Arriving on the tabloid stands is the saga of Reality Leigh Winner a 25 year old Augusta, Georgia woman accused of having stolen ‘top secret’ documents from the National Security Agency (NSA) delving into alleged interference in recent US elections at the hands of America’s supposed mortal enemy, the Russians.

Having illicitly obtained the documents, Reality Winner is alleged to have breached her top security status as a Pluribus International Corporation federal contract worker and leaking said documents to US media blog, the Intercept.

According to the US Justice Department the leaked papers purported to ’confirm’ Russian military intelligence GRU being behind an attempt to hack more than 100 local election officials. So we are asked to believe…..

Not wasting a moment, the Intercept went ahead and published the May 5 NSA report purporting to itemize Russian military intelligence attack on a US voting software supplier, never mind that no evidence (still) exists that any votes were affected by the alleged hack.

Which raises the awkward question, what was Winner thinking when she handed said documents and did she herself actually believe that the report was genuine? Or was she simply trying to dispel the allusion of complicity at the hands of Russians? Or did Winner perceive herself as some kind of freedom fighter – whistle blower compelled to steer America right ….?

Confronted by prosecutors, Winner ‘immediately’ confessed to the leak and was summarily arrested on Monday where she now faces the prospect of ten years jail if found guilty of espionage. Define espionage?Reality Leigh WinnerReality Leigh Winner. Image via FacebookPerhaps to get a better handle of what may have motivated Winner and where things may end up, it might make sense to take a detour into Winner’s previous forays.

According to cnn, Winner spent six years in the military, speaks Farsi and Pashtun, and has been with her current company since 2017.

But perhaps what Winner is most guilty of is what some may consider her ‘unpalatable views’ and sentiments towards America’s sordid affairs and of course our new hero, President Donald Trump.

Posted Winner on Facebook on February 9: “There have been protests for months, at both the drilling site and and outside the White House. I’m losing my mind. If you voted for this piece of shit, explain this. He’s lying. He’s blatantly lying and the second largest supply of freshwater in the country is now at risk. #NoDAPL #NeverMyPresident #Resist”

Also counting against Winner is her seemingly support of America’s progressive ‘socialist hero’ (so we are told…) Bernie Sanders along with other progressive icons, such as Bill Maher and Michael Moore.

As the Caller’s reports, Reality Winner’s apparent social media footprint also shows her being a supporter of other liberal causes (not boding well is it…?) including the Women’s March and the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim civil rights group.

Possibly and probably counting against Winner are other Facebook posts portending her political and social aspirations and concerns, including a 30-minute private meeting with Republican lawmaker, Georgia Sen. David Perdue.

Noted Winner, ‘my concerns regarding climate change and what the state of Georgia is doing to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.’

Which raises the vexing question, how did someone like Reality Winner, the antithesis of what the NSA and military juggernaut stands for ever end up getting top secret clearance and her post with her employer?

Reflects zerohedge: ‘However, what is most perplexing is that her anti-Trump tirades and her anti-government, liberal leanings were all part of the public record at the time she was hired as a NSA contractor for Pluribus in February. How she succeeded in receiving top secret level clearance with such a highly politicized public record remains a mystery.’

In a tweet Monday, WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange called on the public to support Winner, adding that the young woman is ‘accused of courage in trying to help us know.’ Not that the NSA would probably agree with that take ….

Winner is slated for a detention hearing on Thursday where a judge will determine whether to release her on bond as they too attempt to make sense of America’s newest anti-hero or as some may wonder, America’s new freedom fighter hero….

The depiction of accused leaker Reality Leigh Winner through social media is not an “an accurate portrayal of my daughter,” Gary Davis, Winner’s stepfather, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.

In a brief interview, Davis said his daughter served her nation with distinction as an Air Force linguist. He said she speaks Arabic and Farsi and has training in other Middle Eastern languages.

“She’s a veteran, six years’ service of the Air Force,” he said. “She received commendations during that time. She’s just a passionate young woman who probably made some mistakes.”

Davis, who appeared shaken and was hesitant to talk to the press, said he and Winner’s mother, Billie Winner-Davis, were still “trying to get a grasp” of what’s happened. They plan to meet with Winner’s attorney later today.

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Federal Contractor Arrested For Leaking ‘Top Secret’ Russia Document“She served her country and you can respect that,” Davis said. “You may not agree with her politics but she is a patriot.”

“The person they are portraying in the media is an invention,” he said. “It’s their take on what little they know about.”

Who Is Reality Leigh Winner?Winner’s mother says she is not especially political, but a snapshot of her social media may contradict that.

By Curt Mills, Staff Writer | June 6, 2017, at 9:29 a.m.

Who Is Reality Leigh Winner?

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein speaks during the Justice Department's Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Observance Program at the Justice Department on May 31, 2017, in Washington, D.C.Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein stated that the prompt work of federal investigators allowed the Justice Department to "quickly identify and arrest the defendant." (MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES)Details are emerging about Reality Leigh Winner, the 25-year-old government contractor accused of "gathering, transmitting or losing defense information" -- and the first person criminally charged in a leak investigation during the administration of President Donald Trump.

The case was revealed Monday, and the arrest occurred Saturday. Winner's situation was revealed after The Intercept posted a related document -- possibly given to the outlet by Winner -- that purportedly "details Russian hacking effort day before 2016 election."

Russian President Vladmir Putin speaks during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum SPIEF' 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia on June 2, 2017. Putin: ‘Underage’ Children Could Hack ElectionsFederal investigators fast work in the case "allowed us quickly to identify and arrest the defendant," said Deputy United States Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

"Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nation's security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation," he said.

CNN reports that Winner had a "Top Secret" security clearance and had been assigned to a government agency facility in Georgia since February. She is a Texas native who served in the Air Force.

Her court-appointed attorney says she served six years in the military. She is "an athlete who loves animals," says her mother, Billie Winner-Davis.

"She speaks the Middle Eastern languages – Farsi, Dari and Pashto," Winner-Davis told the Guardian. "She did it all on her own," noting that she had not taught her daughter the foreign languages rarely taught in the United States.

Winner's mother also says her daughter wasn't especially political and had never praised figures such as Edward Snowden or Julian Assange to her. But the Daily Caller reported that Winner's social media reveals she is a supporter of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and is critical of Trump.

According to her social media, she claims to have had a 30-minute meeting with Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., on Feb. 14, a day after receiving her clearance.

"My plea that our senators not be afraid to directly state when our president or his cabinet tell outright lies was well heard," Winner wrote on Facebook. "I was able to draw the parallel between the 2011 interview of President Bashar al Assad claiming utter ignorance of the human rights violations his citizens were protesting to Trump's statement last week that the White House hadn't received any calls about the [Dakota Access Pipeline]."https://www.usnews.com/news/national-ne ... nsa-leaker

Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.They could still get him out of office.But instead, they want mass death.Don’t forget that.

This is getting ridiculous. The story may be be legit and valuable, but it all just presents as clumsy dystopian comedy. Hard to believe a real person (with that name...) is leaking real evidence and really going to jail.

I definitely thought her name was a user handle, a take on "reality show winners and losers" and a riff on trump's reality television past.

Who did she blow the whistle on again? Not sure if the moniker quite fits this time around. This young woman DEFINITELY doesn't belong in prison but she didn't even leak any proof of anything. We're still relying on Russian (or Romanian) hackers keeping Moscow Standard Time business day hours and forgetting to change language settings (even though Crowdstrike called Fancy Bear highly sophisticated…sophisticated enough to seed disinformation?).

The Rich and the Corporate remain in their hundred-year fever visions of Bolsheviks taking their stuff - JackRiddler

Is there any chance it could have been a mistake / ignorance of the yellow dots on the publisher's part? It really seems like a stretch even though I want to give the Intercept the benefit of the doubt.

The Rich and the Corporate remain in their hundred-year fever visions of Bolsheviks taking their stuff - JackRiddler

Luther Blissett » Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:12 pm wrote:Is there any chance it could have been a mistake / ignorance of the yellow dots on the publisher's part? It really seems like a stretch even though I want to give the Intercept the benefit of the doubt.

A bit of a sticky wicket for Team Omidyar -- simple Aw, Shucks ignorance is their best frame, but then that would rather negate their whole sales pitch & aesthetic as the cutting edge of NatSec/Tech reporting with an all-star team of experts.

The bit about printers having defined IDs for forensic purposes, however, has been a known known for like a decade at least.

Luther Blissett » Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:12 pm wrote:Is there any chance it could have been a mistake / ignorance of the yellow dots on the publisher's part? It really seems like a stretch even though I want to give the Intercept the benefit of the doubt.

A bit of a sticky wicket for Team Omidyar -- simple Aw, Shucks ignorance is their best frame, but then that would rather negate their whole sales pitch & aesthetic as the cutting edge of NatSec/Tech reporting with an all-star team of experts.

The bit about printers having defined IDs for forensic purposes, however, has been a known known for like a decade at least.

Right. From a post at Moon of Alabama today, entitled "Do Not Trust The Intercept, or: How To Burn A Source":

[...] The source that provided the document had no operational security at all. She printed the document on a government printer. All (color) printers and photo copiers print nearly invisible (yellow) patters on each page that allow to identify the printer used by its serial number. The source used email from her workplace to communicate. Ms. Winner is young, inexperienced and probably not very bright. (She is also said to be Clinton partisan.) She may not have known better. But a reporter at The Intercept should know a bit or two about operational security. Sending (and publishing) the leaked documents as finely scanned PDF's (which include (de) the printer code) to the NSA to let the NSA verify them was incredibly stupid. Typically one only summarize these or at least converts them into a neutral, none traceable form. Instead the reporters provided at several points and without any need the evidence that led to the unmasking of their source. Wikileaks is offering $10,000 for the exposure and firing of the person responsible for this. [...]

Yesterday's published [Intercept] story (with bylines of four(!) reporters) begins:

Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election, according to a highly classified intelligence report obtained by The Intercept.

The NSA "intelligence report" the Intercept publishes along the piece does NOT show that "Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack". The document speaks of "cyber espionage operations" - i.e someone looked and maybe copied data but did not manipulate anything. Espionage via computer networks is something every nation in this world (and various private entities) do all the time. It is simply the collection of information. It is different from a "cyberattack" like Stuxnet which was intended to create large damage,

The "attack" by someone was standard spearfishing and some visual basic scripts to gain access to accounts of local election officials. Any minor criminal hacker uses similar means. No damage is mentioned in the NSA analysis. The elections were not compromised by this operation. The document notes explicitly (p.5) that the operation used some techniques that distinguish it from other known Russian military intelligence operations. It might have been done by someone else.

The reporters note that the document does not provide any raw intelligence. It is an analysis based on totally unknown material. It does [not] include any evidence for the claims it makes. ...